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Anger management techniques and healthy ways to deal with aggressive behaviour give troubled teens a productive way to control feelings that are often caused by stress and hormones. When anger goes unchecked, decisions become reactive and logical reasoning goes out the door. Becoming self-aware of angry feelings and maintaining self-control is necessary for anger management.
Analyse Anger Triggers Is The First Step
Recognising anger-inducing situations or problems before stress levels rise can help teens formulate a plan. When the situation happens, your teenager will be better prepared to handle it. Examples include the failure of a friend to visit as promised, not being allowed to use the family car, or being embarrassed by a teacher in class. Build self-control skills by considering ways to respond in those specific situations.
In a conflict with a teacher, possible actions include talking back in class, complaining to peers, or talking to the teacher after class in a calm manner. Teens should consider how each option might turn out. Talking back is likely to escalate the situation or result in detention. Complaining to classmates gets the emotions out but doesn’t solve the problem. Discussing the situation in private with the teacher allows the teen to express feelings and work with the teacher to resolve the issue.
Get Those Feelings Out
Failing to deal with anger issues can make the emotion grow and build, and it may surface later. Working through it can help a teen control it. Talking to a trusted acquaintance — a friend, counsellor, or parent — can help the teen process feelings.
For teens who don’t want to talk to others, writing is a personal way to think through negative emotions. A teen may write in a journal, write a letter to the person who upset him, write a poem or a song, or draw pictures expressing his thoughts. The process may help him figure out what is causing the anger. He may also discover other feelings that led to the anger, such as worry or sadness.
Remove Yourself From The Difficult Situations
Distance from the situation causing anger can help a teen calm down. Getting away from the immediate stressor allows the teen to process the situation and think logically about what to do next. If your efforts to de-escalate arenít working and you’re feeling like you might blow up into some inappropriate behaviour, getting away from the tense scene is a good and prudent action.
If your teenager and a friend are in a one-on-one conflict and she tells her friend that she needs a few minutes to think, this tells the friend that she is not necessarily blaming her. It might not always be possible for her to walk away. For example, she can’t walk out of class if her teacher makes her angry, but she can use calming activities to take a mental break from the anger. Counting slowly either forward or backward, relaxing muscles, deep breathing, or visualising something relaxing.
Put Energy Into an Activity
Anger isn’t all negative. An angry teen can channel the energy of anger into a productive activity. Exercise is a physically positive way to work out anger. Hitting a punching bag and running a few miles are the best ways to deal with anger than yelling or hitting someone.
Upbeat music and dance can help a teen deal with anger. Those who are musically inclined might feel better after jamming on a guitar or belting out tunes. Other hobbies can create a sense of calm when angry. Another option is to channel the anger into problem-solving. If, for example, a teen is angry after being picked on at school, he might join an anti-bullying movement at school.
Anger Management Activities for Adolescents
Adolescence is a time of intense physical and emotional development. During this stage of maturity, young adults begin to question their values, create a sense of self and establish personal relationships, according to the National Institutes of Health. Anger and angry behaviour is a natural emotion and sometimes arises from confusion, fear, shame, or depression. Learning to manage anger and violent behaviour is essential as teens begin to manoeuvre through this conflict-filled world.
Role-Playing Games
To become aware of basic communication skills, groups of teens and even younger kids can participate in role-playing games, paying close attention to body language, tone of voice, and eye contact. The activity should include active listening skills and speaking in “I-feel” statements. (“I feel mad” rather than “You made me mad.”)
Relaxation Exercises For Unmanaged Anger
Anger can manifest in physiological ways, causing rapid heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, surges of adrenaline, dry mouth, or sweating. Calming exercises, such as meditation or visualisation–thinking about something positive or calming for a certain period–can help diffuse both the emotional and physical effects of anger.
Sports And Physical Exercise
When adrenaline rushes into the bloodstream, our bodies become filled with active energy. Whether a game of basketball, a long walk, or dancing to fast music, physical activity is a healthy way for adolescents to release pent-up energy and dissipate tension.
Creative Arts
Adolescents often feel safer in expressing their emotions through creativity. Journaling helps young people write out their feelings. Drawing offers an outlet without words. Painters can express themselves with colour, while musicians choose melody. A repetitive activity such as knitting combines relaxation with creativity.
Monitor The Anger And Anger Outbursts
When you’re dealing with a difficult situation, monitor your anger. Ask yourself how angry you are on a scale of one to ten, one being completely calm and ten being the angriest you’ve ever been. If you notice that your anger has risen above a three, it’s time to take steps to reduce it. If it’s risen above a five, you should take a time out before doing or saying something you might later regret.
Learn The Triggers Of The Anger Monster
If you pay attention to your feelings, you’ll learn to recognise the things that make you angry. Make a list of triggers, and then decide how you can deal with them. You could avoid things and people that make you angry, but that might not always be possible. You might have to learn other anger management techniques for those situations.
Consider Anger management Solutions And Consequences And All The Good Things
Mental health professionals recommend that you come up with at least three solutions to a problem before you deal with it. This allows you a little bit of time to examine the situation and cool off. Once you’ve brainstormed three solutions for your angry outbursts, give some thought to the consequences.
For instance, if you’re mad that your sister took your iPad to school, you could ask for it back and request that she asks next time before taking your things in the future, steal something of hers in retaliation or start an argument over it. After thinking about the consequences of each of these options, you’ll be better prepared to deal with the situation of uncontrolled anger.
Learn To Relax Is The Best Anger Control Skills
If you’re in a situation in which you can’t get away and your anger is rising, you can practice relaxation techniques. Try taking deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Count each breath and focus on filling your lungs and stomach with each inhalation. You can also close your eyes and imagine that you’re in a safe place that makes you happy. If you choose this option, try to engage all of your senses. For example, if you love going to the beach, listening to the waves crashing, picturing the blue sky, feeling the sun on your face and shoulders, and smelling the salty air.
Writing Plays A Huge Role
Write about your feelings to reduce your anger. Get out an inexpensive notebook, decorate the front, and let it become a journal filled with your thoughts. You can use your journal to write letters to someone you’re angry at, tear them out, and then tear them up. You can write about the situation and brainstorm solutions. Write whatever comes to mind. You don’t have to share it with anyone.
Every teen experiences anger and impulse control because it’s a normal emotion. Some teens have healthy coping skills and can manage their anger whereas others feel like their anger controls them. The Center for Young Women’s Health reports that it’s important for teens to learn how to manage their anger because poor anger management skills can lead to medical problems such as high blood pressure and stomach problems and mental health issues such as depression and substance abuse.
